


Reunion

by forabeatofadrum (maanorchidee)



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Family Reunions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maanorchidee/pseuds/forabeatofadrum
Summary: Chow knows that his brother has left Ba Sing Se, probably for good, but he always hopes to see him again.Or: the perspective of Mako and Bolin’s uncle Chow.
Relationships: Bolin & Mako (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 70





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, I was rewatching The Earth Queen and I felt sad afterwards.

“I don’t need you! I don’t need any of you! If you won’t support me, then I’ll do it on my own. I will never come back to this house!”

Chow winced at the slam of the door. He and his siblings were looking at the faces of their parents. Their father, Bohai, still looked incredibly angry. Their mother, Yin, looked close to tears.

Chow looked back at the door. His older brother San had just slammed it after loudly yelling that he will never come back.

By now, the family was used to the outbursts between San and Bohai. Since San was the eldest, Bohai expected him to take over the fruit stand, but San had always been an ambitious man. They had fought a lot over their differences. San had walked away several times before.

But this time felt different.

Yin started to cry and when Bohai moved closer to comfort his wife, she angrily pushed him away.

“Look what you’ve done!” she yelled and she burst into tears.

Chow’s younger sister rushed towards Yin to hold her as Yin sank to the floor.

The anger left Bohai’s face and he crouched down next to his wife. “Yin, my love, he will come back. He always does. You know that.”

But San never came back.

* * *

Bohai died five years later. 

On his deathbed, Bohai was surrounded by his wife and his kids and even grandkids, since some of Chow’s siblings started marrying and having kids early.

But San was clearly missing. 

After San’s disappearance, Chow was set to take over the fruit stand. Chow didn’t mind continuing the work, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was a reminder of the fact that his brother truly had left.

“Chow...” Bohai reached out to his son. Bohai had spent his last breaths saying goodbye to all his remaining children, and now it was time for Chow. 

“Yes? Dad, please, don’t go yet,” Chow gripped his father’s hand and he tried not to cry. He and his dad might not have always seen things eye to eye, but Bohai was still his dad. He just wished that San and Bohai had been able to work out their differences as well.

“My time has come, my son,” Bohai sounded weak. Yin took his other hand. “You must keep my legacy. Please, do it in my honour.”

“Will do,” Chow cried out. It was just a damn fruit stand and most of their fruit was rotten due to the bad conditions in the Lower Ring, but it meant a lot to his father.

“... if only San were here,” Bohai said and then he closed his eyes one final time.

The room was silent apart from Yin’s loud sobs.

* * *

After that, Chow’s life continued as expected. Chow had taken over the fruit stand and on his first day on the job, he met LiLing. They married a year after that and they welcomed their first son Chow Jr. not much later.

And then Tu was born.

And then Meng-Meng.

He still lived in his parents’ house, just like everyone else in the family. With all the kids marrying and having kids themselves, it got more and more crowded, but it was impossible to buy more or a larger apartment in the overpopulated Lower Ring.

He wished that San and his possible family were there as well. The apartment would’ve been even more crowded, but at least the family would’ve been complete.

* * *

The family still celebrated San’s birthday every year, even without San. 

One day, a couple of years after San had left the house, Chow found something interesting in the mail.

“Mom, mom!” Chow yelled when he burst through the door.

“Chow, why are you yelling?” Yin shook her head disapprovingly.

“Mom, I think it’s a letter from San!”

At the mention of San’s name, everyone dropped what they were doing. Chow handed the letter to Yin and everyone moved closer.

When Yin opened the envelope, her eyes started the water. San had sent them a photo of him, a woman, and two boys.

Yin was unable to read the letter, since her tears blinded her, so one of Chow’s brothers read out loud: “’Dear mom and dad.’”

It fell silent for a while. Of course, San didn’t know about Bohai’s death.

“I’m sorry I didn’t write sooner. My life has been very busy in the past few years. I moved to Republic City after leaving Ba Sing Se. I spent the first two years in the city working for a decent job to start a living. I left Ba Sing Se with nothing more than the clothes that I was wearing that day, but I managed to build a life and I am very happy. Dad, you would never believe it, but my knowledge of fruit has given me the wonderful job that I have today!’”

Another moment of silence. Chow felt the ache of his father deeper than before.

His brother wiped away his tears before continuing: “’I started working in an industrial fruit factory and I moved up. I do not have the highest possible position (yet), but I have a decent income and I can afford luxuries. At the factory, I met an immigrant from the Fire Nation. Her name is Naoki. We fell in love and we got married.’ Mom, we have a sister-in-law!”

Yin was still holding the photograph. Chow and one of his sisters looked over Yin’s shoulder so that they could have a better look at the photograph. The woman, San’s wife, looked gorgeous and San looked very happy.

“‘We have two sons. Our eldest is called Mako. He looks just like his mother and he’s a firebender. Our second son is called Bolin and he looks just like me. He is a earthbender. Naoki and I think it is very funny that the firebending child looks identical to her and that the earthbending child looks identical to me. What are the odds!’”

Yin handed the photo to her daughter. Slowly, the photo got passed around and more family members burst into tears at the sight of San and his family.

Chow’s brother kept reading: “’I am sorry that I didn’t write earlier. I had nothing to say and I was still so angry and hurt. But Mako turned eight rrecently and now that I am a father myself, I feel like I can finally understand dad’s perspective. I don’t think I’d ever be truly happy in Ba Sing Se, but I know that dad just wanted what he thought was best for me, even though he was wrong. I also want the best for my boys.’”

More people wept at that sentence. If only Bohai were still here.

“’I hope you are all as well and as happy as I am. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again. Love, San.’”

Eventually, the photo was handed to Chow. He showed it to his own children and he pointed towards Mako and Bolin with tears in his eyes. “Look Junior, Tu and Meng-Meng, you have two more cousins!”

Meng-Meng reached for the photograph and squealed. “Cousins!”

Chow nodded happily. “Cousins.”

“Will we ever meet them, daddy?” Chow Jr. asked.

“Now that San’s written us, I hope so. It might happen sooner than expected.”

* * *

San’s letter didn’t have a return address, so all they could do was wait for another letter.

But it never came.

Every year, on San’s birthday, the family would come together in the hopes of receiving a new letter, but San had disappeared all over again. The photo of San’s family was kept safely in a box. It was proof that San did write to them and that it wasn’t a collective dream.

Chow’s hopes of meeting his extended family started to die down. 

Sometimes, he dreamed about going to Republic City to find his brother himself, but he didn’t have the money and from what he’s heard, Republic City is as crowded as Ba Sing Se.

Years went by and Chow started to teach Chow Jr. and Tu about fruit. Chow Jr. quickly made clear that he did not want to take over and Chow accepted that. He was not going to make the same mistake as his father. He did not want to shun his son and then die without ever making amends.

The kids all grew up and one of Chow’s siblings managed to get a job in the Middle Ring. Instead of moving there, Mei used her money to buy the apartment above their apartment from their upper neighbour. The entire family now had more space for the growing kids.

One day, Chow Jr. walked in while waving the newspaper. “Grandma, dad, mom, look at this! Look at the sports section!”

Yin looked disappointed. “This sport madness takes away from the real values of life, like worshipping our lovely Queen!”

Chow rolled his eyes at his mother and he motioned towards his son to come closer. “What you’ve got, Junior?”

Chow Jr. flips to the right place. “Dad, am I crazy, or are these two pro-benders Mako and Bolin?”

Chow looked at the photo in the paper. An older Mako and Bolin were waving while another member of the team looked a bit annoyed. But Chow didn’t care about this third member. He couldn’t stop looking at the photo.

They were definitely his nephews.

“Ma, Mako and Bolin are in the paper!”

Afterwards, the entire family got very invested in the Fire Ferrets. Mei, Chow’s sister from the Middle Ring job, made so much money that she even managed to buy a radio for the entire family. Tu loved listening to pro-bending matches and they cheered every time that Mako or Bolin made a winning point.

Even Yin got over her disapproval of sports. She yelled the loudest.

“Maybe this is why our cousins never visited us,” Meng-Meng said one day. They were all listening to the game. The new waterbender was playing a terrible game. 

“Why?”

“Mako and Bolin seem pretty famous,” Meng-Meng said, “Maybe uncle San and aunt Naoki can’t easily leave Republic City, because they were busy supporting cousin Mako and cousin Bolin’s pro-bending career.”

“Then why didn’t they ever write?” Tu sighed, “Pffff, they’re not that great.”

Chow noticed that his son seemed very jealous of his cousins’ pro-bending succes.

“Well, this new waterbender isn’t great,” LiLing said sternly, “But your cousins have won a lot of battles. Let’s keep listening. Who knows. Maybe Mako and Bolin will come home one day.”

Yin nodded sadly and she turned up the volume.

“ _She’s the Avatar, ladies and gentlemen, playing in a pro-bending match!_ ”

* * *

The Fire Ferrets split up after their first season with the Avatar, so Chow always assumed that they had a fall-out. 

Chow hated it, because now the family had no idea what was happening to Mako and Bolin. 

A couple of months after the split, Mei came home from the Middle Ring to tell the rest of the family her big news: the Middle Ring recently introduced the new “movers” technology. This meant that people could see moving pictures to tell stories and Bolin was an actor in the new _The Adventures of Nuktuk: Hero of the South_ mover _._

Mei and her wife saved all their money so that they could take the whole family to the Middle Ring to see the mover. Chow sometimes couldn’t believe how incredibly lucky they were to have Mei in their family. Other family members were also moving up and Chow was happy for all of them. He was still content with managing the fruit stand.

Chow wished that San and his family would just contact them, but he was glad to hear that his nephews were doing okay.

* * *

One day, Chow walks towards the fruit stand when he sees Tu jumping on two customers.

“What’s going on here?” he asks indignantly.

“Dad, these fruit thieves are insulting our fruit!” Tu yells out.

But Chow isn’t focusing on his son. He squints his eyes and he takes a closer look at the alleged fruit thieves.

... it can’t be?

“Bolin? Mako?” he asks in amazement.

The two alleged fruit thieves look up in shock, so Chow can get a better look. Yes, it’s true. They are Mako and Bolin! They must be! 

Chow feels like he can’t breath. Mako and Bolin are here. After all these years, he’s looking at his two nephews in the flesh.

“How do you know our names?” Mako asks.

Bolin crawls up and says: “Yeah, I mean, I’m famous so I get that, but how do you know his name?”

Chow can’t believe it. His long-lost nephews are here, right in front of him. Sure, they apparently tried to rob the fruit stand, but that’s not important right now. Chow easily forgives them for it.

Chow looks at Bolin. Same hair. Same nose. Same eyebrows... 

“You look just like San!” 

Mako and Bolin look up in shock when they hear their father’s name. They really are San’s kids!

“Tu, you’ll never believe who these guys are,” Chow says to his son with a happy tone in his voice, “They’re your cousins, my brother San’s kids!”

The three boys look at Chow in shock.

* * *

Chow and Tu lead Mako and Bolin to their apartment. Chow explains how they’ve gotten a letter with Mako and Bolin’s names on it and Tu tries to act like he’s a better man.

By now, Chow knows that Tu can’t handle his jealousy very well. He’s jealous of Mako and Bolin getting so much attention without ever being here. Bolin says something about living on the streets and being in a gang, but Chow has already opened the door and he pushes them inside.

Everyone’s happy to see their long-lost family members and Yin embraces the boys. 

When Yin moves back, she asks the question that many have been wondering for years: “Where’s San and your mother?”

Chow watches in horror when he sees that Mako and Bolin’s smiles slowly disappear from their faces. A feeling of dread forms in Chow’s stomach while Mako and Bolin look at each other with sadness in their eyes.

“Wait, you mean, you don’t know?” Bolin asks sadly.

Chow watches how his mother’s shoulders drop.

“I’m sorry,” Mako says sadly and suddenly, Chow knows. It explains why they never got a second letter. “They were killed when we were little.”

Chow’s brother and sister catch Yin when she almost falls. Tu’s smug grin is gone. Chow looks at his wife and LiLing’s eyes are starting to water as well.

Chow has always resented his brother for never reaching out again, but Chow always assumed and hoped that San had moved on and that he was happy. Chow saw so many possible reasons for San not writing, but he never expected his brother to be dead.

LiLing hugs him and Chow cries.

* * *

The atmosphere is somber during lunch. Mako and Bolin tell the others that San and Naoki got murdered and then they got mugged. Mako goes eerily silent when Bolin tells everyone that he doesn’t really remember much of his parents, since he was only six. Chow shudders when Bolin tells everyone that Mako had to witness the murder.

The image of his brother, scarred and murdered, can’t leave Chow’s mind easily. And that is just an image in his head! Poor Mako probably remembers what it actually looked like.

“Mako was the only family I had left, since dad never...” Bolin looks around, “I’m so sorry we never got to meet each other sooner. We knew that dad was from Ba Sing Se, but we never knew about all of you.”

“We didn’t have much left of our parents,” Mako says silently, “We had no idea.”

Chow knows that San wasn’t planning on keeping his sons in the dark about his past. His letter clearly stated that he wished to see them all again. If only they’d known that it was going to end like this.

“So, that is why you lived on the streets...” Tu says sadly. His arrogance is long gone.

“It wasn’t safe to stay in an orphanage,” Mako says, “They would split up mixed families, since it makes the adoption process go easier, but I couldn’t let them take Bolin away from me. As Bolin said, we were all that we had left.”

Chow slowly recalls Bolin mentioning something about a gang, but he doesn’t bring it up. The atmosphere is somber enough and it gets worse when Mako and Bolin ask why San left Ba Sing Se.

Yin takes the boys to another room and when they come back, Yin is wearing the red scarf that Mako was wearing. Chow suddenly realises that it’s the same scarf from the photo. The photo is in black-and-white, so Chow didn’t immediately recognise it, but now it makes sense.

“Okay, enough sadness!” Mei says loudly, “Our long-lost family members are back. Let’s celebrate!”

It takes a while, but the somberness ebbs away.

Chow and his siblings prepare a big celebratory dinner while Mako and Bolin get to know their cousins. Yin watches over them and she thanks the portrait of the Queen Hou-Ting for bringing them back.

Everyone’s amazed to hear that Mako and Bolin travel with Avatar Korra. There wasn’t a fall-out after all! The stories of the family members in Ba Sing Se aren’t as grandiose as theirs, but Mako and Bolin clearly love listening to them.

Meng-Meng shows Mako and Bolin some of her drawings and Chow Jr. has a lot of questions about living in Republic City. Tu begrudgingly asks for some pro-bending tips.

Chow smiles at the sight of his children meeting Mako and Bolin. They’re not San and they obviously cannot bring San back, but they’re family and after more than twenty years, the family feels complete.


End file.
